Pompo

Goddard poses legalizing pot
12/24/08|Arizona Daily Star| by Howard Fischer - Capitol Media Services

Attorney General Terry Goddard said Tuesday that he might be willing to consider legalizing marijuana if a way can be found to control its distribution — and figure out who has been smoking it.

Goddard's comments came after a press conference Tuesday announcing the breakup of a major ring police said has been responsible for bringing about 400,000 pounds of marijuana across the border and into Arizona each year since 2003.

The attorney general said marijuana sales make up 75 percent of the money Mexican cartels use for their other operations, including smuggling other drugs and fighting the Army and police in that country.

He said that makes fighting drug distribution here important, to cut off that cash.
Goddard acknowledged those profits could be slashed if possession of marijuana were not a crime in Arizona. But he said a number of other hurdles remain before that even becomes a possibility.

Phoenix police Lt. Vince Piano said the operation was sophisticated, complete with specially designed heavy-duty trucks to surmount the border fence.

The smugglers also had solar-powered radio towers and a network of lookouts who told the trucks, each carrying up to 2,500 pounds of marijuana, when to move and when to hide under camouflage. He said there even was a system of "food drops" to supply the drivers.
Goddard said the move to break up the ring has so far led to the indictment of 59 people and the arrest of 39 of them, some in this country legally and others who were not.

Piano said the operation was one of several under contract to Mexican drug lords to transport the marijuana from the border through the Tohono O'odham Reservation to Phoenix.

Piano said busting the organization doesn't stop the flow of drugs, saying it was just one of several "transportation groups" working with the cartel. But he said it does disrupt at least part of the flow.

The issue of Arizona drug laws came up during questions about the operation of drug cartels and the violence associated with their operations, particularly in the Mexican state of Sinaloa.

"The key is, they will no longer exist when people don't buy marijuana," said Matthew Allen, special agent in charge of the office of investigations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "This is a market-driven economy and this is a market-driven activity."

Allen said the question of legalization to eliminate those profits is a policy question.
"But if we're going to go down that road, what is the acceptable amount of marijuana that you want a bus driver to have in their system?" he continued.

"I believe it's zero," Goddard said later.

Goddard said a lot of time and money are spent on enforcement activities like the one that resulted in the bust announced Tuesday. He said that requires "a hard look" at the issue.
But Goddard said it's not as easy as simply declaring it legal. He said there would need to be some controls on who gets the drugs — and how much they use.

So far, he said, no one has found a way to put the kind of controls on marijuana he would want before he would consider legalizing it.

Allen echoed the concern that smuggling operations are not simply about marijuana.
He said Mexican cartels also are in the business of smuggling cocaine and other drugs on behalf of other cartels in places like Colombia.

He said they make up the money they lose when those drugs are seized through the profits they make selling marijuana in the United States.

elgrande

Here's an idea, Mr. Goddard: Marijuana should be legal for adults, and adults can use as much as they wish...just like they can use alcohol...just like they can use tobacco. They could buy it in the same places they can buy those other, more harmful drugs. If it's fine for an adult to buy alcohol at the Circle K, it's certainly fine for that adult to buy cannabis there.

Buzzby

That's mighty white of him. Of course, the AG doesn't have the prerogative of changing the laws. His job is enforcing the laws that the legislature and/or citizen initiatives put on the books.

I guess the cartels will exist forever, then. People will never stop buying marijuana.

I wonder why? You can have up to a certain level of alcohol in your system and drive without breaking any laws.

Why not use the same controls we now have on alcohol and tobacco? You have to be over 18 (or 21) and you can buy as much as you can afford.

I don't know what kind of fantasy world you live in, Mr. Goddard, but the decision whether or not to legalize cannabis is definitely not yours.

__________________

Emersion

Does anyone live in AZ? I think someone should Snail-mail him the answer he's looking for. Just tell him that you should not be legally allowed to drive when you are high on marijuana. And ask him why it should not be regulated like Alcohol (No offense, but tobacco does not intoxicate you). Do it up.

cyrus-the-virus

You've never chewed I take it... You can get a nicotine "high" but it's not as potent as alcohol or weed.

elgrande

This letter to the editor appeared in the AZ Daily Star this morning, Dec 30. Mr. Goddard has retracted his legalization statement. Ironically, his letter makes a good case for why it should be legalized. Very odd.

Committed to fight drug trafficking
Re: Dec. 24 article "Goddard poses legalizing pot."
I do not favor legalizing marijuana in the United States. As a law enforcement officer, I am committed to fighting back against those who traffic any illegal drug across our border or in our communities.
Drug trafficking is a serious public safety threat. Marijuana sales are the major source of funds for Mexican drug cartels and their escalating violence in Mexico.
Policymakers at all levels should be focused on the growing threat that violent drug traffickers pose to Arizona and all border states. As in any responsible policy analysis, all possible responses must be considered.
I will continue to make fighting drug traffickers, such as the Garibaldi-Lopez organization, a top priority as long as I am Attorney General.
Terry Goddard
Arizona Attorney General, Phoenix

Buzzby

What does a commitment to enforce the law have to do with not being willing to change one? If marijuana ceases to be illegal, he wouldn't have to worry about it.

This guy's a lawyer? If you legalize marijuana, "trafficking" would cease and the Mexican cartels would lose a major source of funds.

satintiesclub

let law enforcement worry about other illegal drugs such as cocain, heroin, meth . for sure the mexican cartel wil loose a lot of hunka chunka dollars. u.s citizen has less to worry about marijuana for responsible adults will figure out what is good for their body. besides marijuana will only do good to adult users for medicinal or recreational. let americans be americans. capishie

SWE

I do not think that where you can buy it is the issue, nor that most of us would agree that either being drunk or high while driving, operating heavy machinery, flying a plane, etc. is probably not a great idea. It is more likely how do you define high. How do you test for it. Urine and hair analysis is not appropriae as it stands as the tests for THC currently have no reflection on how high someone is.

A 'roadside' test needs to be developed so that a LEO can pull you over and if he suspects that you are high there can be a method to determine level of intoxication. Until that is available we should not expect to see any mainstream legalization.

Frylok

Well it's good to see that at least one narc has seen the light. One down, one million to go.